The Path of the Pod


Amidst the hoopla of the iPod nano’s launch (and the retirement of the mini), what was not as publicized was Apple’s quietly phasing out the classic monochrome-screened iPod.

All iPods now come in full color, essentially retiring the “iPod photo” brand in the process. Which is just fair play considering that it looks awkward to have the lower-end product flash a full-color display while the flagship product sulks in monochrome.

Here comes the tricky part: Where to next? Right now, the pods are differentiated by both physical size and capacity. There’s the classic iPod (”Now in full color!“), 4.1″ x 2.4″ with at least 20GB of hard drive storage; there’s the iPod nano, at 3.5″ x 1.6″ with 2 to 4GB of flash storage; and there’s the 0.78 ounce iPod shuffle, with up to 1GB of flash storage.

Sooner rather than later, the classic iPod just HAS to play movies. It’s inevitable, and here’s why.

Flash storage is becoming cheaper and more powerful. Sometime in the near future, it will be easy to stuff 20GB of flash memory into an iPod nano-sized device. And Apple will have to do it or else the competition would threaten to outclass the iPod nano on capacity. But this means that Apple will eventually have to stuff a 200GB drive into the classic iPod as well, just to keep it differentiated.

What will you do with all that capacity? Go video, of course. And the classic iPod is already poised for position, with its composite audio/video minijack already on board.

So here’s my fearless forecast for the iPod line:

o Apple will launch the iPod video, which will play movies and offer at least 120GB of storage.

o The iPod nano will become a 20GB music player, but it will be a strictly music and still-image playback device. A 1.5″ screen is just a bit too tiny for moving images (not that a 2″ screen isn’t).

o The iPod shuffle will become a 4GB entry-level music player, possibly with a one- or two-line LCD display just to keep people happy. It will still be called the shuffle (because it’s catchy), but you can now select your songs as well. Possibly with the world’s smallest Click Wheel.

o The iPod video will eventually be phased out, and all classic iPods will become personal video and music devices. Heck, maybe the iPod U2 will even come with the complete music videos of U2.

That’s the path of the Pod. You heard it here first. Now let’s sit back and watch the show and see if it all actually happens…

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September 21st, 2005
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
miranoriel
Posted on:
9/22/2005 at 9:22 am

Hmm. Fearless forecast, indeed. What’s next, Art? A review of the nano? :D

Seriously, it’d be great if video capability for the iPod were here already — there’s a whole slew of teeny-weeny audio-video devices out there that I myself would lose faster than you can say MPIO. But is the incremental introduction of video, one product line at a time (at least to the iPod line of devices), more logical than, say, going whole hog and having the entire next line of production armed with video playback capability? Of course, Apple’s savvy when it comes to hooking Mac and iPod fanatics is legendary, so whether EVERYTHING will go video or just the next iPod generation, then the nano, and so on, those of us who can’t resist the temptation to bite into any Apple offered us will go along for the ride…

Uh, hand me that leaf, will ya? >:)

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
jayvee f.
Posted on:
9/22/2005 at 10:14 am

oh thats easy: Apple will do the opposite

the iPod hugo will weigh roughly 50 lbs, be about the size of a fridge and will be able to hold 1 song. :)

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
miranoriel
Posted on:
9/22/2005 at 4:23 pm

LOL! Ouch! I’d like to see the armband for that! Try wearing that baby on a lanyard! Hahaha! Ouch.

Will it come in black, too? :D

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
iBern
Posted on:
9/23/2005 at 11:16 am

I heard a rumor somewhere saying that a PVR-like device has been around the Apple campus for years but they (Apple) will not be releasing it to the public in the very near future — I’m likely to believe this rumor since if you can all remember, Apple was not an early adopter in the MP3 player race. They entered it in a calculated, deliberate way which caught the industry by storm which resulted in the iPod as the dominant player in the industry.

They are probably waiting to pounce into the market with a PVR in their own sweet time — probably when they think they can make a big splash in that niche.